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November 14, 2005
There’s a gap in your leg muscle-it’s like something’s missing
Over the past week I irritated (again) my right inner thigh muscle which was causing some light pain down the medial side of my knee. This is kind of a chronic thing over the past year and I always seem to get this no matter what other injury I get. I guess my right leg bothers me b/c I am compensating for each injury somehow, or perhaps vigorous cross-training bothers it when I can’t run. Basically, it just feels tight, it’s causing my knee to hurt, and I know I have a problem with my body there.
I got a sports massage today in the hopes of working out the tightness/breaking up some scar tissue. Mid-massage I asked the therapist if my right thigh felt normal.
“Not really. There is muscle here and here-but a gap in between. It’s like you’re missing a muscle.”
“Huh. That’s disgusting.” (I’m slightly alarmed, but not really surprised or shocked b/c I already knew there was something pretty wrong with my leg). “Does my other leg feel the same?”
“Yeah, I’m going to check that…No, your left leg feels completely normal. On your right leg I can push into the gap and practically touch bone. The muscle on your right leg also feels ‘crunchy.’ That’s happens when you get inflammation and then it goes away and then you get inflammation again, etc. The crunchiness is all of the metabolic waste and scar tissue. It’s not inflamed now though.” [At this point I find it hard to believe I can run, let alone walk around, with my damaged and missing muscle.]
“Why do you think there is a gap in my muscle?”
“I have no idea" [especially since I couldn’t think of a specific trauma except for a really bad HS soccer injury seven years ago when I got kneed in the right quad and was on crutches b/c of the swelling in my leg-but I have put in MANY miles since then-could that still be it??] "Sometimes the muscle can stick together after an injury so maybe that’s what is going on-all of the muscle in that part of your leg is stuck together for some reason.”
Basically, my right inner thigh is SCREWED UP. The therapist worked on it and then said it felt better to her than before I got there. The whole thing was mildly painful but not too bad. I don’t know. We’ll have to see how it goes.
I also prioritized my running in a serious way today. It was 60 degrees out and gorgeous. Instead of heading to work after school I came home and changed into shorts and a t-shirt and went running for 24 minutes. This was 2.5 hours after my massage. My leg felt better. I went to work after that. I am going to have to work on Friday now but it was worth it. It’s already cold again.
Sometimes feel like I am the only gimp. However, when I was spectating at my soccer game last night we all realized something just happens to your body after high school. My whole team is in their 20s and early 30s. In addition to my tendonitis, someone is out with a back injury, one guy has a hernia in his leg, and four people have chronic and/or acute ankle injuries. We are a mess. We feel so injury prone.
PS. All of the places I go to on a daily basis (school, work, gym, pool) are all various one mile and two mile distances away from each other. Sometimes I make multiple trips. As I biked home tonight I was thinking how much time biking saves me over walking (a 5 minute trip instead of a 20 minute one for example). For the first time ever I was thinking about how thankful I am that my Dad taught me how to ride a two-wheeler when I was either 5 or 6. That’s a pretty big deal. I can still remember the day he taught me-without a helmet! It was the 80s and no one wore them then. I can also remember the day he got my brother and I helmets circa 1990. We hated them b/c we didn’t grow up with them when we were little and it was considered very uncool to wear one. Today though, there are very few occasions when I would dare ride my bike without one. (I am fairly sure I am going to get hit by a car one of these days). How times change.
Posted by Audrey at November 14, 2005 07:20 PM
Comments
We were the first kids around here to have helmets. They were ugly and white and we looked like we had eggshells over our heads. Things have really changed since then! I'm petrified to ride without one now, but then again, everyone does it now!
Blondie
Posted by: Blondie at November 14, 2005 08:14 PM
I find it hard to believe that your leg is as screwed up as you think it is. Yeah, you have some pain every now and then when you run. But missing a muscle? C'mon. That's just therapist nonsense...
(I know I'm going to get in trouble for that one, but I'm sorry. I just don't buy it.)
Posted by: Danny at November 14, 2005 09:58 PM
:) well i think it's more that she was being descriptive by saying i was missing a muscle b/c the gap was large...but it was MOST likely that the "missing" muscle was just stuck to another one. i don't know. i wish i was better at anatomy. (and i wish my leg worked better!)
Posted by: Audrey at November 14, 2005 10:04 PM
Yeah, if I were you I would be curious about the "missing muscle" and have it checked out by a doctor, sounds wierd to me.
Posted by: Dawn at November 14, 2005 10:45 PM
I'm not an expert in this area, but from how you describe this it doesn't really sound like any injury I am familar with. Here is the anatomy:
http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/anatomy/atlasofanatomy/plate15/02mpelvrthighleg.html
From your description it sounds like the gap is where the sartorius muscle is supposed to be. The quads are in front, the hamstrings are in back, and the sartorius is in the middle. I have not heard of it happening, but it is possible you injured this muscle at some time and it is now damaged/smaller. If this was the case you would have weakness in lifting/rotating your lower leg (like the way guys cross their legs). But I doubt this is your problem. As for the crunchy muscle description, also unlikely. Basically I have no idea what is wrong with your leg, but I suspect it is nothing.
However, if YOU feel a diference between your legs and this is where you have had chronic problems, I suggest you talk to your doctor about it. It sounds like she is pretty good. At least then you wouldn't have to worry about your crunchy missing muscle.
Sorry for the long, boring, technical comment. Good luck.
Posted by: Dallen at November 14, 2005 11:27 PM